Synopsis

You’re not supposed to want the one who torments you.

When my stepbrother, Elec, came to live with us my senior year, I wasn’t prepared for how much of a jerk he’d be.

I hated that he took it out on me because he didn’t want to be here. I hated that he brought girls from our high school back to his room. But what I hated the most was the unwanted way my body reacted to him.

At first, I thought all he had going for him were his rock-hard tattooed abs and chiseled face. Then, things started changing between us, and it all came to a head one night.

Just as quickly as he’d come into my life, he was gone back to California.

It had been years since I’d seen Elec.

When tragedy struck our family, I’d have to face him again.

And holy hell, the teenager who made me crazy was now a man that drove me insane.

I had a feeling my heart was about to get broken again.

Stepbrother Dearest is a standalone novel.

**Contains graphic sexual content and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+

Renee's Review

This was my first book by Penelope Ward and it wont be my last. I thought most of the characters were well written, at least the two main one were. The secondary characters (i.e. everyone else) you really don't know much about. It had a good origanal storyline but I felt some part slightly lacking just a little bit, thats not that I didn't like the book because I thought it was really good. There was a lot of sexual tension and forbidden love with a deep, dark, really HOT guy. What else could a girl ask for, right? Ward has a gift of keeping you intrigued just enough, giving you little nuggets of information at a time. She leaves the reader just turning those pages, wanting to know those secrets. When I first saw this book on my facebook page (I follow a lot of other bloggers and tons of authors) all I saw was the teaser. It had the book cover and a blurb from the book. "If I knock on your door tonight don't let me in your room." So I was like, uh oh, this is gonna be goooood and darrrrk (just drawl that out real southern). I did not even read the synopsis, I was already on my Kindle, I hopped on over to Amazon and one-clicked that baby real fast like I didn't already 150+ books waiting on me to read.

This book wasn't as "dark" as I thought it would be really, yeah they are step-sibling and they um hook up...that song Tainted Love comes to my mine, as I'm sitting here typing this review, great now that will be stuck in my head for days! To me this was about a rude jerk who was forced to come live with his father and was going to do all it took to make his dad's life a living hell. Elec has issues to say the least and like all teenage boys there are resons for them. He and his Pop does NOT get along. See, I didn't care for Elec at first, he was a mean boy, a bully! He was this way at first. He did end up changing.

Then you have sweet, pure, innocent Greta. Well, She is as innocent as her hormones will let her be any way. I mean a girls gotta look and dream- lust after..oh wait was that me or her, nevermind. She was a good girl, just like I was at her age (just ask my mom). Her body reacts to him and that is just beyond her control- she can't help that, it has a mind of it's own. Then finally they start connecting, and one night they REALLY connect. Then he ups and leaves back for California, she doesn't see him again for 7 years. Tradgy stikes, they are forced to face each other again, yada yada yada! ANGST! All in all, I thought this was a good book!